CAPTURE OF A GRAND PRIZE. 



293 



equality ; so at last they reached a haven on the west coast of Ireland, where their 

 sufferings ended. On this voyage they had taken thirteen prizes. The Mexican prize 

 which had been wrecked would have added 100,000 to the profits of the venture, but 

 even with this great deduction, the earl had been doubly repaid for his outlay. 



The earl's thii'd expedition was a failure, but the fourth resulted in the capture of the 

 Madre de Dios, one of the largest carracks belonging to the Portuguese crown. In this, 

 however, some of Raleigh's and Hawkins' ships had a share. Captain Thomson, who 

 came up with her first, "again and again delivered his peals as fast as he could fire 

 and fall astern to load again, thus hindering her way, though somewhat to his own cost, 

 till the others could come up " Several others worried the carrack, until the earl's ships 

 came up about eleven at night. Captain Norton had no intention of boarding the enemy 



THE EARL OF CUMBERLAND AND THE " MADRE DE DIOS." 



till daylight, if there had not been a cry from one of the ships royal, then in danger, 

 " An you be men, save the queen's ship ! " Upon this the carrack was boarded on both 

 sides. A desperate struggle ensued, and it took an hour and a half before the attacking 

 parties succeeded in getting possession of the high forecastle, "so brave a booty making 

 the men fight like dragons." The ship won, the boarders turned to pillage, and while 

 searching about with candles, managed to set fire to a cabin containing some hundreds of 

 cartridges, very nearly blowing up the ship. The hotness of the action was evidenced by 

 the number of dead and dying who strewed the carrack's decks, "especially," says the 

 chronicler, " about the helm ; for the greatness of the steerage requiring the labour of 

 twelve or fourteen men at once, and some of our ships beating her in at the stern with 

 their ordnance, oftentimes with one shot slew four or five labouring on either side of the 

 helm ; whose room being still furnished with fresh supplies, and our artillery still playing 

 upon them with continual volleys, it could not be but thit much blood should be shed in 

 that place." For the times, the prisoners were treated with great humanity, and surgeons 

 were sent on board to dress their wounds. The captain, Don Fernando de Mendoza, was 



